Remembering Hagane
by The Crystal Hand Alchemists
Summary: Memories alone are not able to heal the hole in someone's heart...but those who helped make those memories are what should be held onto they're the ones who will go on with you...even when the memories fade.
1. Meetings

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FMA nor—unfortunately—will I ever. So all you people glaring at me through the window can just cool your jets.

a/n: okay, this is my first (and maybe last, depending on how crappy it is, hehe) FMA fic—so please be nice at least for the first few chapters…then you can be as mean as you want, how bout that?

Anyway, this is basically a random fic that I'll probably be doing in my spare time when I run out of ideas for WEDoB…but I got the idea when my friend was typing my name into an "State Alchemist Name" generator, and I was the special one and got the cool name! LoL, anywhos…

This really shouldn't be a romance fic—as far as I'm concerned, but I may change that—you just never know! There might be a few hints of affection, but that should be all…

Oh, and if anyone is wondering about the title, it's kind of based off of and anime music video I saw to FMA through "My Immortal" and that was the title of the vid. I thought it was cool (I hope the person who made the video doesn't mind that I used their title :nervous laugh:)

So…

_Thoughts/Flashback_

_Hagane Memories_

_:Meetings:_

"There—see didn't I tell you?" one of the old men stated suddenly as he jabbed his finger at an article in the newspaper, "I told you that the military was still finding those rebels lying about…" he growled distastefully.

The tiny, outdoor bar was strangely quiet while others walked by on their way home or to go shopping. Three elderly men sat on the barstools, taking a swig of their drink every once in awhile. A few seats down from them was a young girl with a cap tugged over her eyes. Other than her, the bar remained empty.

One of his companions leaned over his shoulder to get a better look at the article, "It looks like they were found not too far from here…Heh, you might want to keep your eyes open, boys; nowadays you can never really tell who's who…"

The third man snorted, "Those Ishbalans wouldn't dare show their faces outside—unless of course they wanted to get taken down by the military," he paused as he took a drink from the mug in his hand, "I hear they have some sort of refugee camp somewhere—hell, but I'm not sure; it's just some damn rumor."

All three men shook their heads and one of them mumbled something under their breath. And across from them, the young girl's hand discretely clenched into a fist.

By now, the first man was starting to become a little tipsy as he placed his head in his hands and stared back down at the paper, "Damn those rebels to hell…" he muttered, "That whole war was started because of that shitty, self-righteous attitude of theirs. If you ask me, every last one of those bastards should be chained up…every last Ishbalan man, woman and child. Who do they think they are anyway? For Christ's sake, they think alchemy is a sin because it 'destroys God's original creations'—heh…my ass…"

One of the men scratched his balding scalp wearily before he noticed the girl sitting across from them, "Should we ask for her opinion?" he wondered.

His other two companions turned and the first man called over towards her, "Yeah, you heard the man; what do you think about all of those bastards?"

They noticed her tense as they addressed her. However, she tugged the cap further over her eyes and stared down at the counter without acknowledging them any further.

"Leave her out of it…" one of them grumbled and took a swig of brandy from his mug, "Any opinion from a woman—_especially_ a teenage one—is useless; it's all full of crap about how we should try and make peace with those bastards—"

"…But it's true…"

The trio glanced up at the soft-spoken voice, but the girl had not looked up. Her eyes continued to stare at the countertop. The three men eyed her quizzically, as if they didn't really believe that she had even said anything.

Her hand clenched around the black, fingerless glove she was wearing, "There's nothing wrong with believing in what you believe in…it's the fact that the one shot was fired that caused this whole mess; and it wasn't even their fault…they weren't even the ones who started it…"

The first man frowned towards her meticulously, "What? Are you one of them or something? My son was in that war and saw every minute of it; it was because of them that the military had to get caught up in the whole thing—it was a damn brat; and just because of that the Ishbalans got all pissy and decided to riot on us…"

"He's got a point there, kid…" the second continued after he had drunk deeply from his mug, "They were the ones that carried it too far. Besides that…" he continued and watched her suspiciously, "You better watch what you say around here; the military is getting suspicious of almost anyone—if they hear you spewing that kind of crap they'll take you under custody."

She didn't answer them, nor did she look up at any of them. The first man's eyes wouldn't leave her, even as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He stood and staggered dangerously as he trudged over towards her barstool; glaring. The girl's eyes shifted slightly when she noticed him moving closer, but she didn't bother with any other movements.

"Well then…" he said while slurring his words together, "If you feel so strongly about that, why don't you go hang out with them in one of those worthless hideouts of theirs; I'm sure the military will find them soon enough; you can just tag along with them to prison…" he growled.

His companions watched him uncertainly while the girl did nothing. He stood towering over her, but she remained unfazed as an uneasy silence began to fill the near-empty bar.

But finally, she irritably tugged her cap further over her eyes and stood. Without saying a word, she turned her back towards the three elderly men and walked out into the bustling crowd beyond the bar.

The trio blinked and each other for a moment, stunned. Then the first man hiccupped and staggered back towards his barstool.

"Damn teenagers…" he grumbled.

-:-

Absently, the girl (a/n: yes, you'll figure out her name eventually, LoL) fingered the strap of her glove as she made her way through the crowd. As she glanced up towards the sky, she noticed distastefully that storm clouds were beginning to gather over the rooftops; even the air was starting to become heavy with the humidity.

But her mind kept wandering; she could hardly even concentrate on the road in front of her.

_It looks like they were found not too far from here…_

They…they couldn't have meant _them_, could they?

Her heart suddenly began to race and she quickly turned on her heels and raced down the opposite street. Not many people bothered to get out of her way so she found herself bumping into more than one person before the crowds slowly began to die away as she neared the edges of the city square.

She disappeared abruptly into the shadows of a supposedly random alleyway. Shadows enveloped her quickly and a cool chill welcomed her away from the heavy humidity. But without stopping, she made her way towards the very back of the alley and quickly pushed away a few trashcans and boxes in her way.

A hidden trapdoor was revealed, but only to those who were looking for it; anyone else would have simply passed it by as an oversized cobblestone. The girl slid her slender fingers between the tiny crevices and heaved with all her might before the stone shifted enough for her to jump through. Her legs fell out beneath her as she landed in an even greater darkness than the alleyway.

But like so many times, she easily navigated through the gloom; taking the correct twists and turns through the tunnel as she headed deeper and deeper beneath the city. She made carefully sure that she took the right path, however; a wrong turn could take her past her destination entirely. But as she continued through the gloom, she was steadily able to make out the tiny murmurs of people.

At this, the girl suddenly let out a sigh of relief while a faint glimmer of light began to fill the tunnel and the smell of the steamy outdoors met her once again. As she took a final turn, she was able to make out an entrance to the tunnel. She picked up her pace until the warm sunlight greeted her a second time.

She crawled out onto the dusty terrain and used the small boulders as support. Many of the voices stopped when she appeared in the entryway, but soon continued when they recognized her face. The girl glanced quickly around the small campsite in relief and let out another sigh.

While she was started to straighten and dust off her black cargos, a voice suddenly called out to her.

"Jin!"

The girl glanced up to find a small, dark-haired child bobbing towards her. She grinned toothily as she caught up with the teen.

"What took you so long?" she wanted to know, "It's been almost a week, you know!"

She smiled and affectionately ruffled her hair, "Well I'm glad you're happy to see me, Rini…" she told her almost sarcastically, but paused a moment and watched all of the others within the camp, "I'm glad everyone's still here…" she said a bit quieter this time.

The younger girl cocked her head questioningly, "Why do you say that?"

Jin blinked and shook her head, "Nothing…just something I heard—hey, is your mother around anywhere?"

Rini nodded excitedly, "Yup! She was making dinner the last time I saw her—are you going to stay and eat with us too?"

"No…No, I'm sorry…" she said with the shaking over head, "…truthfully, I only came because I wanted to make sure…that you guys were still here—besides," she continued hurriedly, "I don't want to trouble her or any of you if that means making more just for me…"

The girl pouted unhappily and folded her arms, "Fine…" she grumbled.

She smiled again and crouched down to her eye-level, "But I promise the next time I come I'll bring some of those onigiri you like so much, okay?"

Rini thought about it for a moment, "…I guess—but just remember, you promised!" she reminded her as she started to lead the teen towards some of the tents. Jin nodded just to reassure her and followed the younger girl through the maze of tents and past other fires.

For some reason, she almost regretted each time she came here; these people had no other homes…they were fugitives who would never be able to get a decent job or make money to support their families again. It almost made her sick to the stomach to think about it…but there was only so much she could do for them; she couldn't give them back their old lives…that was just something she couldn't do…

"Mama! Mama, Jin came back to visit today!" Rini called down a small row of tents. A middle-aged woman sat crouched in front of the fire, slowly stirring a pot. Locks of dark—almost black—hair fell along her back in a ponytail. She glanced up at the sound of her child's voice and smiled when she noticed the raven-haired teen.

Rini raced up ahead of her friend towards her mother excitedly. The woman spoke to her shortly and Jin noticed the younger girl glance towards her briefly before she nodded and jogged off to find some of the other children. Slowly, she made her way towards the tent until she stood opposite of the woman from across the fire.

"Go ahead and sit down…" she told her quietly as she reached beside her to toss on another stick to the fire.

She did as she was told and calmly watched the woman as she prepared the meal. But without being asked, she reached over and grabbed one of the carrots and slowly began to cut it into the boiling water. The woman didn't appear to protest, but both of them sat in silence for the longest time.

"Adele…" Jin began quietly, "Adele, I think Koen's camp has been found…It's been all over town today; at first I thought it was all of you…but…"

The woman paused, but did not look up at her. After a moment, she took up her spoon and absently stirred the broth, "He was a fool anyway…he wasn't careful enough when he sent for supplies; I'm not surprised in the least—"

"Please…" she cut her off and stared down into the boiling water, "Please don't stay here; the military has been more aggressive than ever searching for all of you…I'm worried…"

Adele stopped, but wouldn't look at the girl directly; her eyes wandered off towards the dusty earth. An awkward silence filled between them as Jin watched her pleadingly.

After a long pause, the older woman sighed heavily, "Why can't they just leave us alone…?" she asked softly. The teen watched her in silence, but didn't reply as she continued on, "Why do they persecute _us_? Do they not think that they've ruined us enough by forcing us to live in refuge—because this is the closest thing I've ever seen to hell…"

The younger girl watched her sadly, "Adele…"

"I don't want Rini growing up like this, Jin…she doesn't deserve this…" she quickly cut her off. There was desperation in her voice and a tone that made her think that she had given up hope, "…And yet they still think we're a threat to them—we've been reduced to nothing! What else do they think we can do to them?"

Jin sighed sadly and stared down absently at her gloved hand, "I'm not sure, Adele; the world isn't fair…so I'm just not sure…"

She noticed the woman wipe at her eyes and glanced up only to see silent tears trickling down the side of her tanned cheek. Neither of them said anything, however; they only listened to the distant sounds of the men murmuring with one another and the children laughing beyond the tents.

The girl sighed heavily and let her fingers curl into a fist around her glove. Without saying a word, she stood and cross the space between them before she wrapped her arms gently around the older woman. Adele didn't flinch at her touch, nor did she make any movement at all. But she appeared to be comforted by her embrace and she let out a heavy sigh.

After a moment, Jin backed away and knelt beside her before she began fishing for something from her pocket. She then withdrew a small wallet and handed it to the older woman.

"Here…I know it's not much, but it should be enough for a weeks worth of supplies…or something like that…" she told her quietly.

Adele stared at it almost dumbly before she held out a shaky hand and the teen dropped it into her palm. She stared at it in near-wonder before staring at the younger girl.

There was a short pause before she quietly began to laugh, "…I just don't understand you, Jin…"

She blinked, "What?"

"I don't understand why you care so much about all of us…" she continued quietly as tears began to brim in her eyes for a second time, "You're basically risking everything just to make sure we stay alive out here; what is it about you that makes you care for us? We all owe you so much…"

For a second, Jin only stared at her stupidly…but then that faded away as her expression became grave, "…You don't owe me anything…" she whispered softly, "…I do this only for my own selfish reasons…"

_As if this would make up for what happened in the past…_she finished mentally.

The older woman noticed her fist beginning to clench around and watched her quizzically, "What are you talking about? How could this be selfish?" she questioned and gestured towards the wallet.

Jin's eyes became hooded as she swiftly rose from the ground, "Nothing," she answered shortly and turned her back towards her, "It's nothing…just…just tell Rini I'll come by as soon as I can, okay?"

She nodded slowly, "A-Alright…" she answered while the girl hurriedly disappeared behind the next row of tents.

-:-

The teen mentally cursed at herself as she made her way down the streets of the city square for the second time that day. Strands of her midnight-black hair fell over her eyes with the help of the cap tilted over part of her face. But within those violet eyes of hers, tears began to form and trickled silently down the side of her face—irritably, she wiped them away.

_Crud…I almost let it slip again…_

She absently kicked at an empty can and shoved her hands into her pockets where she discretely fingered the silver watch within. What was she going to do? Deep down she knew that no matter what she did to help Adele and Rini and the rest of the Ishbalans hiding out there, she could never forget what happened…

There was nothing she could do to forget that.

"_Don't come near me, dammit! Who the hell do you think you are?"_

_The little girl's eyes filled with hurt, "Keiji…Keiji I'm your sister…_

"…_Don't you remember?" _

Her fist clenched again inside of her pocket and her eyes grew hooded once again.

Why didn't he remember…?

Why did he forget her?

"_You're nothing to me!" he barked harshly into her face. She noticed something in his eyes that didn't quite fit; there was anger there…loathing and hatred burning in those golden eyes. There was something else too…_

_His hands…Those hands that once held her so lovingly and protectively were now stained with the blood of the innocent and even his comrades in the military…_

_He had changed; she didn't recognize him—despite his similar appearance—on the inside of his heart he had changed to the point where he was almost no longer her brother. The little girl shivered against his hard gaze, but she refused to give up._

"_Why have you forgotten about me?" she asked quietly as tears streamed down her face, "Keiji why are you like this? I hate you like this—!"_

"_Shut up!" he snapped and suddenly, the back of his hand swiped across her tiny cheek. Her head jerked to the side and she let out a small cry of pain._

_That scene stood frozen in time. The older teen stood fuming and heaving deeply while the tiny child held her face to the side where he had struck her. Her shoulders began to quiver as her quiet sobs filled the room and a silent teardrop trickled onto the floor._

_She heard him growl darkly and noticed him rip off the glove on his left hand. She also felt her heart stop in the same instant. The older boy's hand suddenly gripped onto the back of her head and forced her to look at him as he shoved his palm dangerously close to her face. Her violet eyes stared transfixed at the transmutation circle etched along his hand._

"_Don't tempt me, onee-chan," he spat the words out mockingly, "I'm not afraid to use this on you—not on anyone! Do you hear me? Those bastards fighting out there are all the same; they're all fighting for a lost cause—this is a war without meaning, dammit!"_

_The girl blinked tearfully, "…But…but why are you doing this to everyone…not all of those people are guilty—"_

"_Because they're all useless to the world!" he shouted severely, "They poison this earth and everything in it; it's like that with everyone else in the world too! Their only thoughts are for themselves; they're just a load of selfish bastards who want nothing more than to live off of the expenses of others!"_

_There was suddenly a thick pause that filled out between them while the girl stared at her brother tearfully. Abruptly, something flashed over his eyes and he began to talk again…only this time, almost monotonously._

"_They seek power…" he said darkly, "…And that search is what drives them mad…but no matter what, people keep searching for the same thing over and over and over again; no matter what the cost is…they only care what happens to them in the end…"_

-:-

"Aw man…I'm so hungry…" the blonde-haired teen grumbled as he placed his elbows on his knees. And as if on cue, his stomach growled rather loudly. He sighed and stared off at the ground in front of him.

"I-I'm sorry, nii-san…I didn't realize that the train tickets would cost so much…" his companion mumbled in embarrassment, "I would have brought more if I knew—!" he started to add hastily, but his brother waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, Al…we'll think of something…" he reassured him, "I mean, the worst thing that can happen is that we have to walk back to Central…"

The two boys—scratch that, the shorter teen and the suit of armor—sat alone on a bench just outside of the train station. Residence of the town eyed them suspiciously and seemed to walk faster as they passed by. Neither of them seemed to notice since Ed's hunger probably had the ability to distract both of them at once.

"Do you think it would have helped if you showed them that you were a State Alchemist? Maybe they would have let us go to Central for free?" Al wondered off-handedly.

His brother snorted, "And risk getting chucked off the train like I was at the inn at the Youswell Coal Mine? Yeah…I'd rather get off the train without taking any damage if you don't mind—besides, Winry'll kill me if I damage any more of this auto-mail…" he added with a small grin.

Both of them sat in silence for awhile as they watched the townspeople pass by them. Even if they were looking at them strangely, they had gotten used to it by now; it wasn't every day that someone saw a pint-sized kid walking around with an empty suit of armor.

Ed stood abruptly and stretched towards the sky before he turned back to his brother, "Might as well see if there's anyone around here willing to give us a place to stay for the night…" he said and calmly began to walk down the street as Al followed obediently after him.

-:-

"Or not," the alchemist told him about three hours later. Ed's stomach growled again and his face seemed to droop. While they sat outside of the last inn in town, the streets slowly began to empty out and the sun began to set. Only the dim glow from the windows—as well as a few lampposts—lit the street out in front of them.

He sighed, "Looks like we're stuck walking to Central…" he said a bit drearily.

His brother bowed his head, "I-I'm sorry nii-san…" he mumbled.

Ed blinked, "Huh? Oh, don't worry about it!" he reassured him with a grin, "How many times to I have to tell you? If it means another day or so away from Mustang, I'm all for it—"

He was suddenly cut off when a gunshot blasted through the quiet night sky. Both of them started as the blast faded away—only to be followed quickly by another.

"What the hell—?"

But before he could even finish, somebody suddenly dashed out from around a corner down the street. Al and Ed stood quickly and watched as they were soon followed by a group of overly-burly men. It was then, however, that they were able to realize that the one who they had seen first was a young, teenage girl with ravenous black hair.

She stumbled and nearly tripped, but she was able to catch herself before her persecutors could fire a third shot at her. The group raced past the two brothers without even acknowledging their presence. The girl panted heavily and swiftly made a turn down an alleyway.

One of them men stopped suddenly at its entrance and raised his gun; firing off a third shot. A cry of pain quickly followed and the man ran into the alley.

Ed quickly stood from the porch—and his brother seemed to know what he was thinking at exactly the same time. They both raced after them while Al's armor clanked noisily in their wake. Ed was somehow able to move ahead of his brother and slid to a halt in front of the alley.

"Hey!"

He came to an abrupt halt. The girl stood cornered against the back wall, but instead of trying to find a way around them, she was kneeling on the ground. And with speed that almost didn't seem human, she had taken out a piece of chalk and swiftly drew a circle in the ground. Before any of her pursuers could fire another shot, she pressed both palms into it's center.

A flash of light suddenly enveloped the alleyway and Ed threw up his hands in front of his face.

When the light had dispersed, the girl was now found standing with a blade in her hand—but as Ed took a better look at it, he realized it didn't resemble the one that _he_ normally used, but instead it almost appeared as if it was made up of

Crystal…

She was heaving deeply now and could only hold the blade in one hand, since her other remained limp at her side. A tear appeared on her black cargos and a stream of blood trickled down her leg from being grazed by one of the bullets. The tip of her sword rested uselessly on the ground.

Al now appeared behind his brother, "She's…an alchemist?"

His brother clenched his fist; "Heh, then that will make this a little easier, won't it?" he said and clapped his hands together before slamming them on the ground. The men turned at the sound of his transmutation and blanched in unison as he pulled a spiked pole from the ground.

He stabbed it into the pavement and smirked, "Okay then…who wants to go down first?" he challenged darkly.

The men stared wide-eyed at him before one of them pointed behind the alchemist, "It's Fullmetal!"

"Hell yeah it's—wait a minute," he paused when he realized they had been pointing at Al, "Ah crap…not again…" he sighed and hung his head while his brother sweatdropped uncertainly.

But with her persecutors distracted, the girl swiftly turned and jumped up onto the ledge above her. She grunted softly, but this caught one of the men's attentions and he turned with a pistol in hand.

"Hey! Get down from there, bitch!" he shouted and raised his gun.

Al noticed this almost before it even happened, "No! Wait—don't!" he cried out in desperation—but a fourth shot was fired into the night.

The girl dropped suddenly and cried out in pain. The blade from her hand clattered to the ground while she whimpered and clutched her bleeding side.

The man's other companions stared at him in horror, "You idiot!" they screeched in unison, "You just did that in front of the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"Nii-san…I think they're afraid of you…" Al said slowly, even though his eyes never appeared to leave the girl lying at the back of the alley.

Ed smirked and fingered the pole in his hands, "They should be—heh, I guess my reputation precedes me in this town…"

But then the man who had fired the gun now suddenly pointed it at the blonde-haired teen, "Alchemist or not, this doesn't concern you, _boy_—and whatever the hell _you_ are," he spat at Al, "This girl owes us!"

He cocked an eyebrow, "Really? I'd think this would be a little pointless then; she can't exactly pay you back if she's dead," he said rather smoothly as he golden eyes flickered towards her body lying with her back towards them.

The man growled darkly as his face turned beet-red and his hand began to shake dangerously, "Er—SHUT UP!"

Without warning, his gun fired again—only this time at Ed. The alchemist swiftly raised his right arm and the bullet simply bounced off.

The trio of men instantaneously took a step backwards, "Wh-What are you…?" one of them asked shakily while Ed's smirk widened and he raised the pole in a preparation to fight any of them. Each of them seemed to coward (except probably the idiot who had fired the gun).

"Whatever or whoever the hell he is," the man began, "He's nothing more than a pint-sized kid who's gonna get his ass beaten to a pulp in just—!"

_WHACK!_

The rod in Ed's head suddenly found itself against the side of the man's head. His eyes widened in surprise as he made a small turn on his heel before his body suddenly collapsed to the ground and he fell into unconsciousness. There was an artery pulsing in the alchemist's temple and his free hand clenched into a threatening fist.

Al noticed this and shook his head, "…He shouldn't have mentioned his height…" he stated almost in pity, "Now he's not going to be happy…"

The remaining two men blanched and stared, horrified, at one another. An instant later, both of them made a mad dash for the exit and the two brothers promptly stood aside to let them pass; it wasn't worth it to chase after them after all. Ed watched them for a moment and shrugged, but not before he turned again towards the girl.

"Is she breathing?" Al asked worriedly as he brother knelt down next to her. He placed to of his fingers along her jugular vein and paused for a moment.

"Well, she still has a pulse—do you think you can carry her? We have to find a hospital somewhere…"

Al nodded briskly and leaned over, gently lifting her into his arms, "Why do you think those men were after her, brother?" he asked as he started to head towards the entryway. But Ed didn't answer him.

He turned to find the alchemist still crouched along the ground. For a moment, Al thought he was looking at the bloodstains she had left behind for some reason…but then he noticed that Ed was holding something in his hand. Al stopped and turned back towards him.

"Brother?"

"We'll find some first aid supplies and head out," he answered shortly, "We're not stopping until we reach Central…"

Al was about to ask him 'why?' but then he saw his brother stand and turn towards him. In his hand, he was just able to make out the silver pocket watch he held.

He also noticed a frown curling at his lips, "Mustang's got a hell of a lot to explain this time…"

Ed silently let the watch hang down by its chain. His brother's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed the identical markings to those on Ed's State Alchemist watch on the one he held in his hands

"What…?"

The alchemist gripped the watch in his hands and stared transfixed at the ground, "We'll worry about that later…right now we have to fix that girl up so she doesn't bleed to death on our way to Central…"

"Oh!" he glanced quickly down at the girl lying limp in his arms, "Right…"

He turned back towards the exit and headed out again, only at a more hurried pace. Ed, on the other hand, stayed back for a moment longer. Slowly, he opened his hand again and stared down at the silver pocket watch in confusion. Without really paying attention, he absently flicked it open and closed it in the same motion before he clenched it in his fist a second time.

"…Who the hell are you…?"

-:-

a/n: …

egh…yeah it was crappy—but mind you it was still only the first chapter; hopefully it should get better

_Hopefully_…

Well I don't know, this is probably something I'll just do in my spare time (or forget forever like that Rurouni Kenshin fic I "started"). But hopefully if those of you, who are still reading, stick with me, maybe it will progress to a better story, LOL

Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble now—so just one more little drabble:

The crystal-sword thing is an inside joke for our class. We were talking about minerals and all that fun crap and a kid asked if you could make a diamond sword (as long as you used enough pressure and stuff like that) and my teacher said no—but nonetheless (like the weird, over-analyzing kids we are) we kept asking and coming up with all these scenarios for how it could work…

Okay, well _now_ I'm rambling, so I better go—Please R&R if you really liked it; I'd like to know if I should continue on this or just drop it…

So…

Ciao!


	2. Suspicions

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don't own FMA…but Jin is my character so…YAY!

a/n: well, actually I'm impressed; I hardly even expected to get one review, LoL (but I'm glad you all reviewed anyway—it makes kitkat happy!)

Cookies to my reviewers!

XxXHellzFireAngelXxX: Of course I'll update WEDoB! LoL, even though the next chapter isn't _exactly_ finished yet (but I do have the last part of the chapter done! If that counts as anything that is…:nervous laugh:)

Gozilla: Thank you! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!

Dragonwitch66: Well I'm glad you liked it! Hehe, it was just kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, but if you want me continue, I will—but I still have to update my other stories too!

Oh, and on another note, I'm kinda basing Keiji on Haru from Fruits Basket—but most likely on looks rather than personality…

Just so all of you know…

_Thoughts/Flashback_

_Hagane Memories_

:Suspicions:

"_Huh…?" slowly, the raven-haired child blinked open her eyes and glanced around. It was then that she realized she was being carried piggy-back down the familiar dirt road and that she was staring into a head of short, silver hair._

_The boy carrying her gazed up quickly at her before shifting her weight, "Ah, so you're finally awake…you're such a wuss, you know that?" he told her with a short laugh._

_She pouted, "Am not!" but then she blinked and looked around a second time, "But…um, Keiji…how did we get here again…?"_

"_You fell asleep, remember?" he reminisced to her, "You were waiting for me outside of headquarters...and you seemingly got bored sitting there…" he said, inferring to her pleasant nap._

_For a moment, she stared at him stupidly before a thought occurred to her, "Oh! That's right! Keiji, I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to fall asleep… how'd it go?" she questioned hurriedly._

_There was a pause and the girl thought that it hadn't gone at all, but then she noticed a small smile curling at his lips, "Check my pocket…" _

_She blinked, but nonetheless obliged. As she rummaged through it, she found that her tiny fingers clasped around something cool and metallic. Her eyes widened as she withdrew a silver pocket watch engraved with a picture of a dragon-like figure and several other designs._

"_Keiji!" she exclaimed happily._

_Jovially, she hugged her brother around the neck—only to find that her grip was far stronger than she thought._

"_Jin…I can't…breathe…" he wheezed and she quickly lessened her hold._

_She laughed nervously, "Heh, whoopsie…" her smile was faint as she turned her head to watch the setting sun fade behind the horizon. Mama would have been happy…she would have been happy to know that they were watching out for one another; especially now that Keiji would have his own part in the military._

…_But if they had known how long that would have lasted…_

_They wouldn't have taken it all for granted…_

-:-

Jin moaned quietly and tried to move her arms, but her body wouldn't let her. Inwardly, she frowned. She was able to make out a pair of voices—they both sounded pretty young too; they were almost indistinguishable, however, over the sound of clanking metal.

"Nii-san…are you getting tired? Maybe we should stop and rest for a little while…" the youngest voice said. The girl listened for a moment; this seemed to be the closest to her.

"I told you, Al, we're not stopping till we reach Central…"

_Central! _She thought, suddenly frantic when she was finally able to comprehend what he said; why were they going there?

She furrowed her brow and tried to open her mouth—only to find that it took a great deal of her energy. What the hell! Had these people drugged her or something? Worse yet, were these people trying to kidnap her?

"No…No—stop!" she cried abruptly and unexpectedly began to flail her arms.

"Ah! Wait! Stop, you'll hurt yourself—!" The young voice cried, but Jin suddenly found herself falling until she crashed onto a dirt road. She cried out when a sudden shock of pain raced through her arm and abdomen.

The girl winced and blinked after a painful pause before she was able to look up at the two boys…or at least, what she _thought_ were going to be two boys. Instead she was looking back at a blonde-haired teen and a suit of armor.

Weird…

"I…I told you so…" the armored one said quietly and this caused her to start; she realized only now that this was the owner of the younger voice.

After her shock, Jin shook her head fervently, "No! No, see? You can't take me to Central—you don't have to! I'm just fine, see?" she told them frantically as she waved one of her limbs, "This arm won't move, though—but I'm still just fine—!" she cut herself off suddenly and cried out, immediately clutching onto her wounded arm.

"Are you asking for a death wish or something?" the blonde-haired boy asked bluntly, "'Cause you're going to bleed to death if you keep moving like that; we could only fix you up so good after what those guys did back there…"

_Back there…?_ Urgently, Jin turned her head back down the opposite road, only to find that their town was long gone…and in its place was a wide expanse of rolling hills along with the single path they were traveling on.

Crud.

But…what was she supposed to think? These two were the ones who helped her the other night and who had tried to bandage her up to the best of their abilities—

But they were also kidnapping her (not to mention the fact that it was a little curious why they didn't take her to an actual hospital first…)

They _had_ saved her though…

And yet it _was_ odd that they were kidnapping her too—after all, the teenager wasn't even taller than herself; if anything the guy in the armor was more of a threat than him. Why bother trying to kidnap her anyway? Who would _want _to?

Well, she supposed these guys would…

"Uh…thanks…" was all she could mumble while she massaged her wounded arm.

The two 'boys' glanced at one another briefly before the shorter crouched down to her eye-level (though, technically, he didn't really need to crouch down at all), "Why are you freaking out about Central anyway? You aren't some fugitive on the run are you?"

She stared at him stupidly for a moment, "What? No! No! You don't understand; you just can't take me to Central!"

"Problems with the military?" he wondered.

"No!"

"Crazy relatives?"

"_No!_"

"Fear of traveling?"

"NO!"

Jin shook her head forcefully and stared down at the ground when she abruptly felt tears burning at her eyes. She said nothing for the longest time as she tried to force her tears back; but she still sensed both of them watching her.

"You…wouldn't understand…" she whispered and shook her head once more, "No one would understand—especially them! They…they probably despise me…even now…"

There was another tension-filled pause between them while the girl continued to shake her head. When it appeared as though they either wouldn't stop watching her or say anything more, Jin shakily tried to make it to her feet.

She winced painfully as she clutched at her arm; it almost appeared as though her legs would be ready to give way at any moment, and yet she forced herself to stand.

"What do you think you're doing?" the blonde-haired boy demanded as Jin started to pant heavily.

"I'm…going home…" she heaved, "If I had one goal in life…it was to avoid that place at all costs; and I'm sure as hell not going to break that streak now…"

"Wait!" the boy in the armor desperately pleaded with her, "You'll bleed yourself to death if you try and walk back!"

She gritted her teeth against the pain, but didn't answer him.

"Al's right…" the other cut in as he watched her under scrutinizing eyes, "Right now we're closer to Central than we are to that town of yours; you might as well find a hospital there first before you try to head back…"

Jin breathed heavily, "If you're trying to get me to go with you…it's not working…" she muttered, "You'll have to drag me by my hind legs if you're going to try and make me go to Central—"

She was cut off suddenly as her knees buckled beneath her. The girl cried out in pain and whimpered quietly under her breath while her knuckles turned white from clutching at her arm so tightly. Both Elric brothers noticed the patch along her side beginning to stain once again with a crimson liquid. She didn't seem to realize this, however, and tried to stand once more.

"You'll kill yourself!" Al exclaimed frantically as he watched her.

The girl heaved deeply as she stared at the ground before her, "Good…" she muttered after a pause, "…Then that's one less sinner God will have to deal with on this earth…"

Without warning, the road became silent—save all but Jin's desperate attempts at breathing. Neither brother looked at one another, yet somehow they were both thinking the same thing. It was as if what she said had set off a trigger somewhere that had struck them both in the same place…it was as if she knew exactly what they had told so many others before.

But it made them wonder…

Had she done something just as terrible as them?

There was a quiet sigh that came from Al's armor. Without saying a word, he walked up to her while his armor clanked deafeningly in the silence. And without giving her time to object, he promptly lifted her off the ground with both hands, and carefully placed her along his shoulder.

She blinked in surprise and stared down at him; there was no anger in her violet eyes, but only wonder. The shorter of the two brothers stood in front of them and rested his hand on his side casually as he stared up at her. But after a moment, he lowered his eyes and watched a patch of ground off somewhere else.

"Don't talk to us about sinning…" he told her absently, "…We know first-hand what happens to people who try and trespass into God's domain…"

Her eyes widened, "…Wh-What…?"

Both brothers were silent and didn't answer her. The girl felt a shiver race down her spine; what could they have possibly meant by that?

But she suddenly started when she noticed that the blonde-haired teen turn his back towards them and start to walk back down the dirt road, "Well it's a little late to turn back now, don't you think?" he asked a little too casually as he placed his hands behind his head, "Might as well get as far as we can today…Central shouldn't be too far after that—"

"I told you I'm not going to Central!" Jin cried frantically while Al started to move forward, "I just _can't go_!"

He inclined his head towards her slightly before returning his gaze to the road, "Well seeing how it is you can't stand…it looks as though you have no choice; believe it or not, but you're stuck with us."

She stared at him with her mouth gaping…

He wasn't serious!

-:-

Unfortunately for Jin, he was.

But at least it would have been more bearable if they had at least said _something_ to her; but the only noise that came from them was from Al's armor clanking whenever he walked. But now, his armor had grown quiet and the two of them were sitting in utter silence underneath a small sapling.

Great. They were kidnapping her and torturing her with this stupid silence of theirs! Was it just because of her, or did they always do this to people?

Growing bored, she glanced up at the landscape around her. The shorter boy—Ed, she thought she heard Al call him—had gone up ahead of them to see how much longer they had to travel. Not that it matter to her; she would give anything to delay this trip as much as she could.

She sighed quietly and fiddled with the strap along her glove…

_Of all the places…of all the places, it just had to be Central…God, you must really want to punish me—_

"So…um, why were those men chasing you before?" Al suddenly asked. At the sound of his voice breaking the silence, she nearly fell over from her surprise. It took her a moment though, before she could actually comprehend what he was asking.

Her eyes flickered towards her glove then down at the ground below her, "Just…something stupid…" she mumbled.

If she had been able to see his face, she probably would have seen him quirk an eyebrow at her, "I wouldn't have thought it was stupid, seeing that they were carrying guns with them…And one of them said you owed them something…"

At this, her eyes averted away from him, "Oberon…yeah, I never liked that guy…" she said absently while still trying to avoid confrontation with the first question. Not that she would have preferred to remain quiet and keep that damn silence…she just never liked those kinds of questions.

Jin frowned slightly as she stared back down at her gloved hand. If they were taking her to Central, they would probably find out sooner or later; and she would rather explain it herself than have those military dogs do it for her.

With a sigh, she began to fish for something in her pocket. Al noticed this and turned his head towards her in curiosity. After a moment, she was able to withdraw a small chunk of coal that was probably no bigger than a quarter and she set it in her open palm.

Swiftly, she was able to remove her glove from her left hand; hoping to cover up the tattoo along her skin. Al's eyes widened when he noticed the transmutation circle etched along her palm.

But without taking notice to his reaction, she placed the piece of coal on her palm and curled her fingers over it. Sparks of purple light suddenly emitted from between her fingers and crawled along the rest of her hand; the armored-boy made a noise of alarm, but as quickly as the light had started, it faded away.

Jin sighed again and opened her hand, holding it out towards Al.

Now, instead of the chunk of coal, a piece of crystal twinkled in the setting, orange sunlight.

She smiled grimly and tossed it to him. He jumped in surprise and juggled it for a moment before he was able to hold it between his fingers, "Is it…Is it real?" he wondered.

"Yup…" she answered bleakly as she stared back down at her hand.

"I'm the Crystal Hand Alchemist."

-:-

Ed stared at his brother, "The what?" he asked again.

"She said she was the Crystal Hand Alchemist…" he repeated and glanced towards the girl sleeping peacefully a little ways off. She had tried with all her might to stay awake, but her fatigue had crept up behind her and she was out cold in a single hour.

He furrowed his brow as his gold eyes scrutinized her suspiciously, "…I've never seen that name in the archives before--and we would have heard something about it too; she doesn't look any older than us…" he said off-handedly then thought a moment, "You don't think she's related to doctor Marco somehow, do you?"

Al said nothing for a moment and stared into the measly fire they had built, "No...but Nii-san! Nii-san, what if she's not telling the truth?"

"I thought about that already…" he informed his brother quietly, "But then…how did she come up with the watch? Those pocket watches are restricted only to State Alchemists…" he told him and his brow furrowed again as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. With his other hand he withdrew his own watch and stared at it for a moment.

The two brothers sat in silence for awhile as the fire crackled between them.

After a moment, Ed smiled grimly and tossed another log into the flames, "The only thing I can think of is that she stole the watch from someone and took up some fake State Alchemist name…but she just doesn't seem like the person to do that, somehow…"

His brother thought for a moment, "Maybe…she actually _is_ a State Alchemist—only her name was removed from the records for some reason."

Edward cocked an eyebrow at him, but didn't reply right away. That…that did make sense; but why would they erase her from the archives? It made him remember her statement from before, though; about how there would be one less sinner in the world if she died…had she done something so terrible that even her name had to be erased from the military's knowledge?

"She's definitely not telling us the entire truth, that's for sure…" he said under his breath.

Al went silent for a moment, "But…brother, why are we taking her to Central anyway? She said she didn't want to go; maybe she just doesn't like it there…and if she's been erased from the records, how do we even know she's a State Alchemist? For all we know, she might have just found the watch somewhere…"

"I doubt it…" the alchemist said grimly, "I don't think a State Alchemist would easily part with one of those," he let out a dry laugh and absently poked the fire, "Maybe she killed someone and stole it from them…"

"Brother!" Al reprimanded quickly, "Don't kid about those things! You said it yourself that you didn't think she was the type of person to do that!"

He frowned for a moment, "…True…but we don't exactly _know_ her, Al," he sighed heavily and stared down at the ground, "Hell, we don't know anything about her for that matter except for the fact that she calls herself the Crystal Hand Alchemist—that's not very creative anyway, especially since it sounds like Marco's nickname…"

His brother didn't reply; his eyes wandered towards where Jin lay sleeping (he realized just now that she had probably fallen asleep away from them on purpose). He couldn't imagine her having done something so terrible that she was erased from the archives—let alone _killing_ someone. Ed was right; they didn't know anything about her—but nonetheless she didn't look like someone who would kill someone—

"…K…Keiji…"

Both Al and his brother glanced up quickly as the girl began to shift restlessly. The younger of the two brothers noticed how her brow furrowed as if she was having a terrible nightmare. She began to whimper quietly in her sleep her fingers clenched around the blades of grass beneath her.

Before long however, she started to cry out and tossed even more fitfully. Ed sighed and got up as he walked over towards her. He crouched back down and carefully prodded her in the shoulder with his finger.

"Hey…Hey!"

In an instant, Jin's eyes nearly shot open. She hurriedly glanced between the two brothers as she shot up off the ground.

"You were having a nightmare…" Al explained as she stared at Ed uncertainly.

She paused a moment; trying to get over her shock. But after she had recovered, she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah…I guess you could call it that…" she murmured and stared off at the dying fire, "…I've been having a lot of those lately…" she said off-handedly.

"Who's Keiji?"

Jin blinked and turned to Ed; her eyes almost seemed to widen in horror, "What?"

"You were talking in your sleep," he said casually as he turned back towards her former seat next to the fire, "You said Keiji or something like that…just wondering who you were dreaming about…"

There seemed to be a blush that formed at the tips of her cheeks as she stared off at the ground somewhere, "It's…no one…"

Al blinked; even though Ed didn't notice it, he was able to see tears beginning to form in the girl's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. He also noticed how her gaze almost seemed to grow distant as she continued on:

"Just…someone I used to know…"

-:-

a/n: um…I think I'll just end it there…(I'm kind of running out of ideas anyway, LOL)

But the good news is that since I'm running out of ideas—I'll get to work on WEDoB! YAY! Haha, though I'm not sure how good it's going to be (this time, I sort of worked backwards, so now I have the ending done and I need to work on the beginning…werid…)

Anyway…I probably should go to bed now or I'm going to be a lethargic ball tomorrow morning…

Peace and Luv!


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